Mike Signer

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"Mike" Signer (D)
2015-Mike Signer bw.JPG
Atri Michael "Mike" Signer, ca. 2015

Electoral District At-large
Term Start January 1, 2016
Term End December 31, 2019
Preceded by Dede Smith (D)

President (mayor)
Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District Elected by and from council
Term Start January 1, 2016
Term End December 31, 2017
Preceded by Satyendra Huja (D)
Succeeded by Nikuyah Walker (I)

Biographical Information

Date of birth Jan. 1, 1973
Age 51
Place of birth Arlington, Virginia
Spouse Emily Blout (m. 2012)
Children 2
Residence Tonsler Precinct (301)
Alumni Hall Precinct (402)
Alma mater B.A., Princeton University
Ph.D., University of California
J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (class of 2004)[1]
Profession Attorney
Religion Judaism
Website http://www.mikesigner.com/
Campaign $ VPAP
Contributions $ VPAP

Atri Michael "Mike" Signer was elected to City Council in the 2015 election. He served as mayor for the first two years of his term. [2] [3]

See also: Charlottesville City Council, 2018-2019

Brief Bio

Mike Signer is attorney and politician who served as mayor of Charlottesville from 2016 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, Signer was elected to City Council in November 2015. On January 4, 2016, at the council's organizational meeting, Signer was unanimously selected by his peers to serve as mayor for a two-year term. Signer is managing principal of Madison Law & Strategy Group, PLLC headquartered in Arlington, VA; a boutique strategic counseling firm which he founded in 2010. Signer practices corporate and regulatory law and is Vice President and General Counsel of WillowTree, Inc., a technology firm in Charlottesville. As mayor, Signer formed a Mayor’s Advisory Council on Innovation and Technology to assemble leaders in the capital, business, university, and policy spaces.[4] In 2005, Signer bought a house in the Fifeville Neighborhood. He worked for the Center for American Progress, and with John Podesta on Barack Obama's State Department Transition Team. Signer moved back to Charlottesville in 2013 with his wife, Emily Blout. A lecturer at the University of Virginia, he teaches in both the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics and the Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy. Signer previously chaired the Emergency Food Network, served as president of the Fifeville Neighborhood Association, and was a member of the steering committee of the West Main Street Redevelopment Project. In 2017, Signer and his wife, Dr. Emily Blout, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, moved from the Fifeville Neighborhood to the Venable Neighborhood. They have two children who attend a local Montessori School.

2019 election

Signer announced on March 28, 2019 that he would not seek a second term on Council. [5]

2015 election

Signer was elected to the Charlottesville City Council on November 3, 2015. [6]

Signer is a Charlottesville attorney and one of three Democratic nominees for City Council in the 2015 election. [7]

2009 election

Signer was a candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2009 election.

Biography

Signer lives in Charlottesville with his wife, Emily Blout, and their twin sons. Signer attended Washington and Lee High School in Arlington County. He credits attending Earth Day in 1990 as one reason he sought out public service. [1] At Princeton University, he helped work on the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. After graduation he worked on a series of internships and campaigns including Mark Warner's unsuccessful bid for Senate in 1996. Signer earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a Clerk at the Legal Aid Justice Center and Research Assistant to Professors A. E. Dick Howard and Michael Klarman. He has also served as president of the Fifeville Neighborhood Association. Signer bought a house in Fifeville in 2005. Though he later moved out of Charlottesville, he kept the home. [1] Signer moved back to Charlottesville in 2013 with his wife, Emily Blout. He got involved with several groups including the Fifeville Neighborhood Association. [1]

Signer then worked as a policy fellow for organizations such as Third Way and Center for American Progress. He also taught at Virginia Tech during this period. Signer decided to seek office after being inspired by Tom Perriello's successful run for Virginia's 5th Congressional District. In 2009, he ran for lieutenant governor and received 21 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. He also founded his law firm, the Madison Law & Strategy Group and wrote his first book. [1]

Committee assignments

Signer was appointed to the following committees in January 2016. [8]

Mayor

Shortly after being selected as mayor on January 4, 2016, Signer became the target of activist Jeff Fogel who questioned how and why he had been chosen. Former City Council candidate Paul Long questioned the amount of money raised by Signer for the election. Signer spent $51,305 in the general election compared to $28,632 spent by Wes Bellamy and $23,081 spent by Kathy Galvin. [9] Bellamy defended Signer. Fogel tried to respond but was ruled out of order. [10] [11]

2015 election

Candidates Votes %
Wes Bellamy (D) 4,688 29.67
Kathleen M. Galvin (D) incumbent 4,590 29.05
Mike Signer (D) 4,309 27.28
Anson Parker (R) 1,208 7.65
Scott Bandy (I) 691 4.37
Write-In 312 3.0
Source: State Board of Elections[12]


Each voter could vote for up to three candidates.

Candidate Profile Resources
Candidate Mike Signer (D)
Office Charlottesville City Council
Election year 2015 election
Logo-small25.jpg Candidate interviews by Charlottesville Tomorrow
Candidate interview transcript
Candidate interview audio

<mp3player>http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/images/20150828-Signer-interview.mp3</mp3player>
Source website


Audio of Campaign Announcement

<play audio>http://s3.amazonaws.com/cville/cm%2Fmutlimedia%2F20150211-signer-announcement.MP3 </play audio>


People.jpg This biographical article is a stub. You can help cvillepedia by expanding it.

Photo gallery

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Web. For Mayor Signer, public service is 'the cause of my life', Chris Suarez, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, January 9, 2016, retrieved December 27, 2016.
  2. Web. Signer as Charlottesville mayor amid public dissension, Chris Suarez, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, January 4, 2016, retrieved December 27, 2016.
  3. Web. Charlottesville City Council meeting minutes, .pdf, Council Chambers, City of Charlottesville, January 4, 2016.
  4. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/tom-tom-announces-future-forum-to-discuss-the-futu
  5. Web. Councilors Bellamy, Signer will not seek re-election, Nolan Stout, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, March 29, 2019, retrieved March 29, 2019.
  6. Web. 2015 November General - Unofficial Results, Virginia State Board of Elections, November 3, 2015, retrieved November 3, 2015.
  7. Web. Signer launches race for Charlottesville City Council, Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 11, 2015, retrieved February 12, 2015.
  8. E-mail. Paige Rice, City of Charlottesville. "RE: list of appointments." Message to Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Tomorrow. January 7, 2016.
  9. Web. Elections for Mike Signer, Virginia Public Access Project, retrieved December 27, 2016.
  10. Web. Signer elected mayor, Bellamy vice mayor, Lisa Provence, News Article, C-Ville Weekly, January 5, 2016, retrieved December 27, 2016.
  11. Web. Charlottesville City Council meeting minutes, .pdf, Council Chambers, City of Charlottesville, January 4, 2016.
  12. Web. 2015 November General, State Board of Elections, November 4, 2011, retrieved July 28, 2016.

External Links